The book of Numbers was written around 1428 BC by Moses. He wrote about the prophet Balaam who was corrupted by Balak, the king of Moab. Balak bribed Balaam to place a curse on the Israeli people because he was afraid of Israel’s mighty military. Balaam was a prophet with whom God spoke to many times. Even though God directly communicated to Balaam, he consistently defied and resisted God.
Number 24:17 reads “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.”
The Old Testament has been said to prophecy over 300 times the birth of Jesus. Our God spoke hundreds of times about the Savior he would send to forgive our sins. God loved us so much, he wanted to show the ultimate demonstration of love by sending His Son to earth to model a perfect life for us, be crucified, and rise from the dead. Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, God spoke of His Son and the promise of forgiveness that would come.
Do you ever feel like no matter how hard you try, you “fall short” of being the person you want to be? Are you unable to understand why you cannot follow through on the things that you want to do?
Throughout the Bible, we learn that God created man (and woman) as sovereign and sinful beings. We have the choice to choose sin or follow the right path the Lord puts before us. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we choose the wrong path.
Paul said in Romans 7: 15-16 that “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do.”
God created us as sinful beings. He knows your heart. No matter how hard we try, we will “fall short” of what we deserve. We will continue to make mistakes, lose our temper, and many times, regret the choices or decisions we make. The guilt of failure and disappointment can sometimes pull us farther away from God because we do not feel worthy of his forgiveness. Or, we might think that God will never forgive the horrible sin we committed.
No matter how rough or tough your life is, Jesus will forgive you. There is no sin too great for Jesus to forgive. There is no wrong that cannot be forgiven if you ask Jesus for forgiveness. He is the ultimate source of redemption to remove us from the heavy burdens we carry in this world. He forgives your sin of theft, deception, lying, coveting, adultery, abortion, and even murder. There is no sin too great for our God to forgive. There is no sin too awful that Jesus won’t provide us rest and redemption from.
Lord Jesus, please forgive me of my sins. I believe that you sent your Son to die on the cross to forgive me of my sins. Thank you for the ultimate demonstration of forgiveness and peace. I want to follow you, praise you, and glorify your name. Please help me to be the person you want me to be. Amen
